CCM Award-Winning Student Newspaper Earns Another 13 Awards

The Youngtown Edition, the County College of Morris (CCM) student newspaper, recently won 13 awards from the New Jersey Press Association (NJPA) including a first place award for general excellence.

Of the 13 awards, four were first place winners. Student Matt Fish, of Dover, won first place in the biography and personality profile category. Allison Shadel, of Succasunna, was awarded first place for general photography. Three CCM students swept the category of editorial writing with Jose Diaz, of Parsippany, winning first place and Ashleigh Parr, of Vernon, and David Danzis, of Flanders, coming in second and third place.

“It is just a testament of all the hard work the staff has put into this paper,” said Danzis, editor-in-chief. “None of it would be possible without Professor (Matthew) Ayres and Dr. (Noel) Robinson.” Ayres has been the advisor of the Youngtown for about four years and Dr. Robinson is coordinator of the Journalism Program at CCM.

The NJPA’s New Jersey College Newspaper Contest is judged by professional journalists in the state.

A consistent award-winner, Youngtown last year also had several first place winners, including Diaz and Danzis. Also last year, the newspaper was awarded Gold Medalist status from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, marking the third time in the last 10 years that Youngtown had achieved that status. In addition, the newspaper in 2010 was awarded All-Columbian Honors for Writing and Editing, Graphic Presentation and Business Operations. All-Columbian Honors are given when a publication is ranked in the 95th percentile or higher in each category.